Short Family

In these stories, inspired by long-lost photographs, the lives of the people in the frame are imagined and then explored, layer by layer. What must have it like to be them? We share the lives of three sisters, brought up in Penang. We hear of what happened to them, and to their Chinese neighbours caught in the tides of war. We see a group of small boys in a Glasgow slum, their young lives stunted by poverty, and hear how life worked out in contrasting ways for them. We follow a young woman's search for love in the unlikely realm of Egyptian antiquities.

Will the majestic piece of art that is hanging predominantly in Patrick Andersen’s home, lead them to his missing sister? He hopes so since he has no idea how to handle his other sister who is in the lawyer’s office with him.Livia Andersen was a woman who held her family together with a quiet smile and an iron will. Yet less than a week after her death only two of her four children attend the reading of her Last Will. Patrick, her younger son is there primarily to learn what he can from his mother’s lawyer about his youngest sister who has been missing since shortly after their ...

In Buttercup Bay, love’s the real Halloween magic. When city girl Sophie moves to the small town of Buttercup Bay for a much-needed retreat, she never expects to be swept off her feet by the local baker. Greg, the ruggedly handsome owner of the town’s favorite bakery, has always found comfort in the rhythm of his quiet life—until Sophie stirs up more than just his interest. As the Halloween Bash approaches, they find themselves caught in a sweet and spicy competition to win the Pumpkin Pie Contest. But with sparks flying and hearts on the line, will they discover that the real prize ...

Can this mail-order bride convince her husband he needs a ready-made family? With the help of the Westward Home and Hearts Matrimonial Agency, Piper Paulson finds herself on a train to meet and marry her future husband, a kind-hearted teacher in Montgomery, Colorado. Together, they make the perfect pair until, suddenly, Piper finds herself at odds with her husband. She doesn’t know how to get what she wants and save their marriage at the same time. August Harrison falls in love with his mail-order bride right from the start. He believes he and the quiet woman who grew up in an orphanage ...

Staying in Silver Springs, Colorado, just may take more courage than she has within her. Christmas time in Silver Springs, Colorado, has always been Margaret Harden’s favorite season. Miracles abound at Christmas, and who’s to say it isn’t her turn to experience one? And a miracle it would certainly be! As the owner of Quaint Quilts, Margaret has almost everything she’s ever wanted. Except the love of a good man. She’s only let one man have claim to her heart, but he’s completely blind when it comes to love. Margaret doesn’t know if she can handle the pain of watching him ...

Livia Andersen was a woman who held her family together with a quiet smile and an iron will. It’s been months since her death and her children and grandchildren she leaves behind continue to grapple with the shifting changes in their lives now that she’s gone. For some of them it is about far more than adjusting to her absence in their lives. Trisha Andersen doesn’t do anything without careful deliberation. She can’t remember the last time she made plans involving a man that had her questioning her own judgment. Maybe it’s the simple fact that she’s never made plans with a man ...

The Summers family always chose somewhere special to spend their Christmas holiday instead of at home. Every year their holiday vacation destination was different and determined by each of their Christmas wishes. Hannah and her children loved their Christmas holiday tradition even though it was never easy for everyone to be completely satisfied and this year was no different...or was it? Daniel Summers quickly offered to handle the arrangements for their upcoming Christmas holiday vacation. He knew his mother was surprised and maybe even a little suspicious about his offer to find a place ...

The saga continues with Claudia and Henry Johnson expecting their first baby any day now. In anticipation of this exciting event, Joy and Billy are on their way to town to purchase a baby gift when they see Doc Higgins racing out of town. They are sure he must be headed for Henry's home, so they make their quick purchase and head over to Henry's home where they find Doc Higgins' buggy and horse. They're just in time for the arrival of their new baby! Another six months goes by and Joy and her brother, Henry, are once again invited to participate on the weekend singing venues in nearby ...

Returning to Sunset Glade was supposed to be a fresh start, but some secrets refuse to stay buried. Gabrielle Fairway thought she left her small town for good, but when her father's wild theories bring her back, she can't ignore the pull of her old life—or the love she left behind. Sunset Glade isn't the sleepy town she remembers. Shadows linger in the swamp, and Tucker Auric—her high school crush turned town protector—seems to be hiding something much darker than the past. As a panther shifter, Tucker has enough on his plate keeping the local wildlife safe and fending off the rogue ...

One of Canada’s most acclaimed horror writers, Gemma Files presents a mosaic of interconnected stories about interconnected families. After fleeing Scotland, five clans settled in the fictional town of Dourvale in northern Ontario. Known as the Five-Family Coven, they are the descendants of witches and witch-children, none of whom were spared persecution in their native country. Now shamans, spellcasters, singers, and thieves, the members of the Devize, Druir, Glouwer, Roke, and Rusk families survive by trading their occult powers and talents.

Betrayal. Bitter resentment. Unwavering loyalty. One man inspired all three... And expected nothing in return...he’d learned not to. Then, when time was more precious than anything money could buy, he wanted one thing for himself. Just one thing. It began all about him...or so he believed. And should have known better. He excelled at keeping his emotions carefully hidden. Then she became his everything. Nothing was the same... He’d do anything to protect her...anything. This is Book Six of the 6-part Married to Memories Until Someday novella series. Book 6 of 6.

From the number-one best-selling author of Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas and Sundays at Tiffany's, two heartwarming tales about the power of a good story to open our eyes to life's possibilities.

Everything has come to this one moment, this one night. The plan is ready to be executed. The sexy, dark billionaire Sean Ferro is at my side and in my bed. As the erotic tension between us deepens, I see the man he could be - the man he's becoming. Sean has me in every possible way and swears to protect me from my enemies.

Where there’s a Will, there’s not always a way in Japan. For the unsuspecting, risks and dangers lurk in the shadows of Japan’s unique inheritance system. These fictional short stories illuminate the real-life system’s inner workings in an easy-to-understand format. A revealing, entertaining window into a rarely seen corner of modern Japanese life. The protagonists represent a cross-section of modern Japan (urban and rural, suburban and expat). What links them all is how they confront the inheritance system's unexpected risks and deal with them in equally unexpected ways. (Earlier ...

Available as a value box amazon.com/dp/B07Y2B5HJG (copy and paste the link into your browser) Join Emily from Marshall Manor as she prepares for a wedding she doesn’t want to go through with and find out what happens when her entire life changes in a span of a week. It’s a crisp autumn evening and the weather in Chicago is not the only reason for the chill in the air. Promised to an older man when she was just a young girl, Emily has now come of age and is forced to face a long-delayed reality. Living in Marshall Manor has been an exceptional blessing for Emily and her fellow orphan ...

The Against All Odds series is a romantic comedy saga with lots of humor and some angst.

The Vitale Crime Collection is a mafia romance series that focuses on powerful men and the women that bring them to their knees. Featuring arranged marriages, runaway brides, and bounty hunters that fall for their target. This collection features the short romance reads: Married To The Boss, Falling For The Enemy, and Hunting Down The Bride. This year, don’t hesitate to fall for a bad boy. Happily ever after guaranteed! ♥

What do you do when your new stepmother is a lying psychopath, your best friend is out of the country, and the father who once loved you more than life itself kicks you out of the house at the beginning of Thanksgiving break? Well, you probably cry for a few hours and then crash at the first place that offers you a sofa. And if you’re me, that place happens to be a house of seven boys. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really glad I don’t have to sleep in my car until Alya gets back from her cruise. But staying with half a dozen strangers and some guy I once had a math class with was not how ...

Ruth Raber, an elderly Old Order Amish woman, has led a lonely life. She never married, never sang with a boy at one of her community's gatherings, and ruined the only relationship she could've had. And worst of all, she doesn't understand why any of that happened. Or does she? Every year around Christmas, a series of memories haunt her, and this Christmas is no different. When the nearby townspeople and the Amish and Mennonites in the area gather at Christmas Eve and invite Ruth, not only will she be challenged by her memories, she'll be challenged by a lesson from her mother, now passed ...

Family is complicated...but that's okay... Resolute is the second novella in the ongoing Andersen Family Saga. Noah Andersen had built his successful company from the ground up. He isn’t thrilled that several of his conference rooms have become a home-away-from-home for a team of government auditors trying to ferret out evidence to back up the anonymous tip received pointing in his direction. Noah knows where the tip came from. And now that he’s got his sister safely ensconced with their aunt he’s ready to take on the person responsible, her husband. But if he turns his brother-in-law...